


through and through

by movements



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Ableism, Dyslexia, Dyslexic Klaus, Gen, Good Brother Ben Hargreeves, Good Brother Diego Hargreeves, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, No Incest, Stuttering Diego Hargreeves, Tags will be added, internalized ableism, no beta we die like ben
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-24
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2020-10-27 06:54:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20756177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/movements/pseuds/movements
Summary: ‘Read me a story, Benny darling.’ Klaus requested, body sprawled onto his back on his bed. His ankle knocked against Ben’s knee.Ben rolled his eyes quite expectedly. ‘Read it yourself, Klaus.’‘Fine.’-klaus has dyslexia. based off @lesbuchanan’s anon post lol





	through and through

**Author's Note:**

> this was based off an anon on @lesbuchanan ‘s tumblr.
> 
> klaus has dyslexia

‘Four, dear. Focus.’

Klaus’ eyes flickered upwards with a hint of a scowl. He  _ was _ focusing. But how was he supposed to focus on the nonsense on the paper in front of him? He had no clue what Mom expected him to do with this. 

He let his eyes linger on the paper for a few more moments before he got bored and began fidgeting with his pencil.

‘Are you finished, dear?’ Grace was  _ still _ hovering over him, and he curled into himself, self conscious.

His eyes quickly scanned the room. Six and Five had finished already, while One, Two, and Three seemed to be on the last question. Did they even have the same quiz as him? He stared down at his own paper, a single answer bubbled in. He let his mind wander, eyes quickly focusing onto something distant in the room.

‘Dear?’

Four pulled himself out of his thoughts with a blink and a questioning hum. She only responded with a flicker of the eyes that displayed some pre-programmed look, like she was analyzing him. He did not like it, so he just stared blankly back at her. Thank  _ god _ , she left him alone after that.

His fingers tapped against the desk, left alone to his thoughts once again. The paper stared at him. How was he supposed to know what ‘adjacent’ and ‘unanimous’ meant? He’d never seen those words in his life. Five liked to say big words like that, and Four learned a few of them from him. He rested his chin on his palm.

‘Four!’

Klaus’ eyes snapped up at his father’s voice, body rushing to match. He opened his mouth to defend himself, but he was already cut off by Father.

‘What is this incompetence? Your siblings have all finished. You are slacking severely, Number Four.’

Anger bubbled up in Klaus. It wasn’t his fault he got a different quiz, that was Reginald’s dumb fault. ‘Why’d you give me a different test then?’ Klaus asked. 

Reginald’s brow furrowed, eyes narrowing over Klaus’ paper, and Klaus just wanted to shrink under his father’s scrutiny. Not to mention his siblings who were probably watching the whole thing.

‘Children, you are all dismissed.’ Reginald announced suddenly. Klaus was about to get up, but of course, things were never that easy. ‘Stay here, Four.’

After a few awkward moments, Pogo, Grace, and Reginald were all gathered around his desk. Grace was holding some more papers, and he wondered if they’d finally realized their mistake. They’d simply given him the wrong test.

Grace handed him a paper. ‘Read this sentence, dear.’ Pogo’s eyes were trained on him, and Klaus shifted at the attention. Nonetheless, he read it with relative ease.

She handed him another paper, and Pogo spoke up this time. ‘Fill in the missing sound, Master Four.’’ This one was harder, but Klaus could do it if he focused. 

The tests when on like that, and every once in a while his eyes would flicker up to meet Reginald’s. Was he disappointed? Ashamed? Was Klaus stupid?

Slowly, they got to more difficult territory. Words began to jumble together, and their pronunciation didn't make much sense in Klaus’ mouth. He didn’t know if he was supposed to know this stuff. 

When they finished, Reginald dismissed Klaus, immediately speaking to Pogo in hushed tones.  _ Whatever, it wasn’t his problem now. _

-

‘Read me a story, Benny darling.’ Klaus requested, body sprawled onto his back on his bed. His ankle knocked against Ben’s knee.

Ben rolled his eyes quite expectedly. ‘Read it yourself, Klaus.’

Ha. Fine.

‘Fine.’ Klaus threw himself upwards dramatically, snatching it right out of Ben’s hand, which earned him a grunt of annoyance. 

His eyes began to skirt over whatever page Ben had left on. His mind stuttered. There were just… so many words. Words he could easily recognize and others that he certainly couldn’t. He nearly got a headache trying to focus on a single one, and his brow furrowed a little. Focus, Klaus.  _ Focus _ .

‘Klaus?’ Ben asked. Klaus ignored him, finger darting up to save his place. He brought the book closer to his face, as if that would help any. 

Maybe it did. Klaus hadn’t noticed how difficult reading was before today. He’d assumed that his siblings all had the same struggle, that Ben was just abnormally smart.

He wrinkled his nose in frustration, and shoved the book back at Ben.

‘Reading is dumb anyways, Benny! C’mon, let’s go play a game or something.’ Ben only blinked back at him. 

‘Is something wrong, Klaus?’ Ben asked carefully.

‘No. I just don’t feel like reading right now.’ He said, a bit cold, and Ben watched him like Klaus was a cornered animal. Something seemed to click in Ben’s mind, and Klaus wasn’t sure if he wanted that or not.

Ben hummed. ‘I can read out loud, if you’d still like?’ He suggested.

Klaus considered for a moment before nodding. His back hit his blankets as he sprawled his limbs out once again.

-

Klaus stood at Diego’s door. He’d just finished knocking for the fourth time, and he was starting to become unsure whether he’d be let in or not.

Sure enough, Diego eventually gave in.

‘W-What are you doing in huh-h-here, Klaus?’ Diego gritted out, angry and tense. Klaus knew it wasn’t directed at him though, so it was okay.

He kicked his heel into the ground a little. ‘You seemed upset. Back there, I mean.’ AKA his stutter had interrupted his sentence during a shouting match with Luther.

Diego shot Klaus a glare. It barely lasted a moment before it softened into something else. Maybe self-pity. Of course, big tough Diego wouldn’t let anyone know he was possibly  _ vulnerable _ , so he hardened his gaze with a scowl.

Klaus sighed. He wouldn’t open up unless Klaus said something truly tragic.

‘Y’know, I can, like,  _ barely _ read.’

Diego’s eyes narrowed in his lap, before raising to meet Klaus’. They were mostly confused, and Klaus could laugh at the perplexity.

‘I know, I know, I’m just figuring this out myself.’ He laughed, a bit sad. ‘Apparently all that stuff on the test was english.’ He joked, because it wasn’t  _ that _ bad, but Diego’s eyes continued to widen in horror.

‘Why are you…’ Diego trailed off, unsure.  _ Why are you telling me this? _

‘Just. Don’t let your stutter… freak you out, or anything.’ Klaus said, and he was suddenly hyper-aware of his phrasing. He didn’t want to say something the wrong way, or with the wrong tone.

Diego seemed to understand what he was getting at, though. ‘Yeah… yeah. Thanks, Klaus.’

Klaus shot him a grin and a wink. That earned a roll of the eyes from Diego, but it was fond in nature. He tugged at Diego’s wrist, prompting him upwards.

‘Let’s go fuck with Luther.’ He grinned.

**Author's Note:**

> feedback is always appreciated <33


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